American fatally stabbed in Beijing; suspect held

American fatally stabbed in Beijing; suspect held

July 12th, 2012by Associated Press in Local - Breaking News

BEIJING - Beijing police say a 62-year-old American man was stabbed to death in the city's downtown and that a suspect has been caught.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau said in a statement posted on its official microblog late Wednesday that Howard Thomas Mills was attacked near the entrance to a narrow alleyway in the city's Xicheng district.

Police say Mills arrived in China on July 3.

The statement says police nabbed the suspect near the scene. He is a 35-year-old who arrived in Beijing earlier Wednesday by train from his hometown in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China.

Police say the suspect is believed to suffer from a mental disorder and had attacked and robbed people in Shanghai in January before being sent back to his hometown. No other details were given.